Los Angeles:
A New Age motivational speaker who led a sweat lodge ceremony in Arizona last year in which three people died was indicted on Wednesday on manslaughter charges despite his claims he did nothing wrong.
James A. Ray, president of James Ray International, a multimillion-dollar company in Carlsbad, Calif., that promises followers a path to "harmonic wealth in all areas of your life," was arrested at a law office in Prescott, Ariz., not far from the Sedona retreat where the fatal Oct. 8 ceremony was held. He was being held at a jail in lieu of $5 million bond, said a statement by Sheriff Steve Waugh of Yavapai County.
Waugh said he "hopes the families of the three victims will now have some measure of closure to this tragedy." He declined to be interviewed.
The victims, Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y.; James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee; and Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minn., were overcome in the two-hour "spiritual warrior" ceremony, in which hot rocks were placed inside a tent so the 55 participants could sweat out whatever was ailing their souls. Twenty others suffered heat-related injuries.
Participants have said Ray ignored signs that people were falling into distress in the pitch-dark tent and said things like "it's a good day to die" in his zeal to move on. Several lawsuits have alleged negligence and fraud. Virginia Brown, Kirby Brown's mother, said Wednesday in an interview, "This indictment does not bring my daughter back, so it is very upsetting."
She added, "James Ray teaches that people need to take responsibility for their actions, and he clearly has not done that."
Ray had recently taken his case to the court of public opinion, with his lawyers issuing lengthy letters last month providing their account of what happened and asserting that many damaging statements made by witnesses to the police were inaccurate or taken out of context.
They likened Ray to a driven coach but one who did not commit any crime and did what he could after learning people were in trouble.
Ray said as much in an interview with New York magazine in its Jan. 24 issue; he displayed the article on his Web site.
A lawyer for Ray, Luis Li, called the charges unjust and said "this was a terrible accident - but it was an accident, not a criminal act."
"James Ray cooperated at every step of the way, providing information and witnesses to the authorities showing that no one could have foreseen this accident," Li said, adding, "We are confident that Mr. Ray will be exonerated."
He has been a high-profile self-help guru for years, with free seminars and frequent television appearances that recruit hundreds of followers to paid events.
The five-day retreat, at the Angel Valley Spiritual Retreat Center, was among many held in Sedona, whose red rocks and mountains emit mystical energy to some, and simply peace and solace to others.
A program for the retreat told participants "that your future holds the most difficult battles, as well as the greatest of victories." It went on, "As you can imagine, Spiritual Warrior will push you beyond your perceived limits."